Tom Fell has fallen on his feet as Shropshire’s new pro

Shropshire moved quickly to recruit Fell after he was released by Worcestershire at the end of last season and were in a good position to do so as the county’s new head of cricket and captain team of Ed and Charlie Home are close friends of Fell’s family.

After a slow and rain-wrecked start to the season, which saw both of their home double-headers completely washed out, and a defeat by Suffolk in their opening National Counties Trophy match, both Fell and Shropshire have found form in recent weeks.

Fell made 88 to help secure a five-wicket win over Norfolk at Whitchurch last week and followed up with 117 to set up last Sunday’s victory over Cambridgeshire at St George’s.

Shropshire now head to Toft on Sunday for a shoot-out with Cheshire to determine who will join Suffolk in the quarter-finals on July 2. The winners also need to improve their net run-rate if they are to finish top of Group Three and secure a home tie against either Cumbria or Northumberland.

“It’s been a fairly mixed season so far,” said Fell. “We got off to a slow start in the T20s but we won our last game against Northumberland which gave everyone a bit of a lift.

“So far it’s been a pretty good 50-over competition. We really should have won our first game against Suffolk but we batted poorly there, but to then win two in a row has given us momentum and confidence going into Sunday’s game.

“It’s pretty much a final within the group stage and we are looking forward to it.

“Cheshire are a good side. We haven’t played them yet this year because the T20 at Shifnal was rained off. But we know what a good side they are and it’s all to play for.

“It took a bit of time for me to get going having not my usual winter training and pre-season. I started off the season a little bit rusty but as things have gone on, and the more I have played, I have started to find my feet.

“Sometimes you are just one good innings away and the form feels good again. I’m feeling good but I know that I have to try to put in another performance on Sunday because this is the big one.”

Fell is used to playing under pressure having made more than 150 appearances for Worcestershire across all formats in a 10-year career at New Road.

As Shropshire’s professional, he is the man that the youngsters in a side that is going through a transitional phase look up to, but he is relishing that responsibility.

“There’s that responsibility comes from the job that I have been brought me in to do which is to score as many runs as I can,” he said. “It’s a different kind of pressure. There was always that pressure playing for Worcestershire professionally because there you are playing for your career. I quite like that responsibility and being the one that people look to for experience. I enjoy that when I play for Wolverhampton as well and it’s the same when I play for Shropshire.”

Although Fell first played for Shropshire at under-10 level and further youth county cricket for Staffordshire, his education at Oakham School then Oxford Brookes University took him out of the region.

So it was not until he took the field in a rain-ruined T20 match against Staffordshire at Leek in April that Fell had his first taste of National Counties cricket at the age of 29 and his first impressions are favourable.

“I hadn’t played National Counties before but I played for Worcestershire against Herefordshire in a Showcase match two years ago so I knew the standard would be good,” Fell said. “You look at other teams and see the players they have got so you know the standard is going to be good.

“It’s certainly lived up to that. You come across some really experienced players and some talented young players so it’s a good mix. It’s also nice to test myself and to keep playing at a fairly high standard of cricket.”

Away from Shropshire, Fell continues to play for Wolverhampton in the Birmingham & District Premier League although his availability for Saturday cricket has so far been limited by his new day job as professional at RGS Worcester where he works with former England and Worcestershire seamer Phil Newport, the school’s head of cricket.

“Over the summer holidays I am looking to do as much coaching as I can,” he said. “That’s the career plan going forward and to try but I want to play as much cricket as I can alongside that.”